“We will never water down our measures on gun control,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland
Liberals dismissed a Conservative Party offer Thursday to quickly pass parts of the government’s new gun crime bill, C-21, provided that the legislation is split in a way that sets aside more contentious elements for a thorough review.
“I want to say very clearly, we will never water down our measures on gun control,” she said. “I’ll tell you what is entirely insincere: the Conservatives’ fake concern for Canadians who are victims of gun violence. They could support those Canadians by supporting our legislation.” C-21 would create a new “red flag” law that could require a person deemed by a court to be a threat to themselves or others to surrender their firearms to police. It would also require the revocation of firearms licenses from people who have committed domestic violence or criminal harassment, as well as prevent individuals with an existing or prior restraining orders from obtaining a license.
The first round of debate on C-21 in the House Commons was scheduled to take place late Thursday evening.